Top Indian States by Population | Statewise Population 2021
Top Indian States by Population
India’s 2020 population is estimated at 1,380,004,385 people at mid-year according to UN data. As per the Unique Identification Authority of India, India’s population is 1,371,360,350 (approx) in 2020. So based on these estimates, India’s Population in 2021 is close to 1.4 Billion or 140 Crores.
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, a total of 36 numbers. Let’s have a look at the population of States & Union Territories.
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
Statewise Population 2021
| Rank | States | 2011 Census | 2021 (estimates) |
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 19,98,12,341 | 24 Crores |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 11,23,74,333 | 12.43 Crores |
| 3 | Bihar | 10,40,99,452 | 12.70 Crores |
| 4 | West Bengal | 9,12,76,115 | 10 Crores |
| 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 7,26,26,809 | 8.70 Crores |
| 6 | Tamil Nadu | 7,21,47,030 | 7.85 Crores |
| 7 | Rajasthan | 6,85,48,437 | 8.25 Crores |
| 8 | Karnataka | 6,10,95,297 | 6.83 Crores |
| 9 | Gujarat | 6,04,39,692 | 6.43 Crores |
| 10 | Andhra Pradesh | 4,95,76,777 | 5.44 Crores |
| 11 | Odisha | 4,19,74,218 | 4.69 Crores |
| 12 | Telangana | 3,50,04,000 | 3.98 Crores |
| 13 | Kerala | 3,34,06,061 | 3.60 Crores |
| 14 | Jharkhand | 3,29,88,134 | 3.92 Crores |
| 15 | Assam | 3,12,05,576 | 3.60 Crores |
| 16 | Punjab | 2,77,43,338 | 3 Crores |
| 17 | Chhattisgarh | 2,55,45,198 | 2.98 Crores |
| 18 | Haryana | 2,53,51,462 | 2.85 Crores |
| UT1 | Delhi | 1,67,87,941 | 1.90 Crores |
| UT2 | Jammu & Kashmir | 1,22,58,433 | 1.38 Crores |
| 19 | Uttarakhand | 1,00,86,292 | 1.14 Crores |
| 20 | Himachal Pradesh | 68,64,602 | 75 Lakhs |
| 21 | Tripura | 36,73,917 | 42 Lakhs |
| 22 | Meghalaya | 29,66,889 | 34 Lakhs |
| 23 | Manipur | 28,55,794 | 32 Lakhs |
| 24 | Nagaland | 19,78,502 | 23 Lakhs |
| 25 | Goa | 14,58,545 | 16 Lakhs |
| 26 | Arunachal Pradesh | 13,83,727 | 15.92 Lakhs |
| UT3 | Puducherry | 12,47,953 | 14.32 Lakhs |
| 27 | Mizoram | 10,97,206 | 12.55 Lakhs |
| UT4 | Chandigarh | 10,55,450 | 11.69 Lakhs |
| 28 | Sikkim | 6,10,577 | 7 Lakhs |
| UT5 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 5,86,956 | 6.20 Lakhs |
| UT6 | Andaman & Nicobar | 3,80,581 | 4.2 Lakhs |
| UT7 | Ladakh | 274,289 | 2.90 Lakhs |
| UT8 | Lakshadweep | 64,473 | 74151 |
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
Top 5 States by Population 2021
The top 5 populated states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh. In 2011 Maharashtra is at 2nd Spot, but Bihar with a higher growth rate (approx 20%) has replaced Maharashtra at the second spot. Almost half of the country’s population lives in these five highest populous states & Ten most populated states of India contribute 74% of India’s population. Bihar has the highest population growth rate during this decade followed by Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
| Rank | States | 2021 (estimates) |
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 24 Crores |
| 2 | Bihar | 12.70 Crores |
| 3 | Maharashtra | 12.43 Crores |
| 4 | West Bengal | 10 Crores |
| 5 | Madhya Pradesh | 8.70 Crores |
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
Least Populated States 2021
Sikkim is the least populated state followed by Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh. 12 least populous states/UTs contribute only 1 % of India’s population and the 21 lowest constitute only 10 % of the total.
| Rank | States | 2021 (estimates) |
| 1 | Sikkim | 7 Lakhs |
| 2 | Mizoram | 12.55 Lakhs |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 15.92 Lakhs |
| 4 | Goa | 16 Lakhs |
| 5 | Nagaland | 23 Lakhs |
| 6 | Manipur | 32 Lakhs |
| 7 | Meghalaya | 34 Lakhs |
| 8 | Tripura | 42 Lakhs |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | 75 Lakhs |
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
Union Territories by Population 2021
India has 8 union territories, Delhi with close to 20 million population is the largest & Lakshadweep is with a population of 74K is the smallest. Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are newly formed UTs.
| Rank | UTs | 2021 (estimates) |
| 1 | Delhi | 1.90 Crores |
| 2 | Jammu & Kashmir | 1.38 Crores |
| 3 | Puducherry | 14.32 Lakhs |
| 4 | Chandigarh | 11.69 Lakhs |
| 5 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 6.20 Lakhs |
| 6 | Andaman & Nicobar | 4.2 Lakhs |
| 7 | Ladakh | 2.88 Lakhs |
| 8 | Lakshadweep | 74151 |
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
States with Highest Growth Rate 2021
As per estimates, India’s growth rate is approx 14% for 2011-2021. Bihar has the highest population growth rate during 2011-2021 of 19.89% followed by Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
| Rank | States | Growth rate |
| 1 | Bihar | 19.89 % |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | 19.05 % |
| 3 | Rajasthan | 18.21 % |
| 4 | Madhya Pradesh | 17.53 % |
| 5 | Jharkhand | 16.99 % |
| 6 | Chhattisgarh | 15.23 % |
| 7 | Assam | 14.1 % |
| 8 | Nagaland | 13.71 % |
| 9 | Tripura | 13.5 % |
| 10 | Meghalaya | 13.48 % |
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
States with Lowest Growth Rate 2021
As per estimates, India’s growth rate is approx 14% for 2011-2021. 10 States have grown at a rate below 10%. In the 2011 census, most of the South & Western Indian States have a growth rate below the national average & in 2021 also they have a low growth rate. Gujarat is a state with the least growth rate followed by Kerala & Tamilnadu.
| Rank | State | Growth rate |
| 1 | Gujarat | 5.68 |
| 2 | Kerala | 6.87 |
| 3 | Tamil Nadu | 7.89 |
| 4 | Manipur | 8.26 |
| 5 | Himachal Pradesh | 8.56 |
| 6 | Punjab | 8.64 |
| 7 | Andhra Pradesh | 8.73 |
| 8 | Goa | 8.76 |
| 9 | West Bengal | 9.13 |
| 10 | Maharashtra | 9.58 |
Source: Census 2011 & UIAI for 2021 Estimates
States Literary Rate
As per the Census 2011, India’s literacy rate in 2011 is 73%. Male literacy rates in 80.90% & the female literacy rate is 64.60%. Literacy rate in Urban is 84.10% & 67.80% in rural India. Kerala is the state with the highest literacy rate ( 94%) & Andhra Pradesh (67%) is the lowest. Below is the list of States & Union territories with literacy rates from highest to lowest.
| State | Literacy Rate |
| Kerala | 96.2 |
| Delhi | 88.7 |
| Uttarakhand | 87.6 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 86.6 |
| Assam | 85.9 |
| Maharashtra | 84.8 |
| Punjab | 83.7 |
| Tamil Nadu | 82.9 |
| Gujarat | 82.4 |
| West Bengal | 80.5 |
| Haryana | 80.4 |
| Chhattisgarh | 77.3 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 77.3 |
| Odisha | 77.3 |
| Karnataka | 77.2 |
| Jharkhand | 74.3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 73.7 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 73 |
| Telangana | 72.8 |
| Bihar | 70.9 |
| Rajasthan | 69.7 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 66.4 |
| All India | 77.7 |
Source: survey by National Statistical Office (NSO)